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First Baptist Church of La PlataVOLUME 14, ISSUE 3The LamplighterPastor’s PageMARCH2021by Pastor GaryInside this issue:Welcome to the month of March.March has much to consider in the way ofwar, warning, weather, wheels, andwearing green.March is named after the Roman god ofwar, Mars. Following on the heels of winter with the ice and snow melting away,March was the perfect month to get backto fighting one's neighbors; so March gotits name and Mars, his namesake. By theway, the Pentagon has followed this Roman tradition by using March as themonth to begin almost every US-NATOled military operation since Vietnam.We have all learned to “Bewarethe ides of March,” but what does thatmean? The Romans referred to the middle of every month as the “ides.” JuliusCaesar was assassinated on March 15,the ides of March, and the saying waspopularized by William Shakespeare in hisplay, “Julius Caesar.” There is nothinginherently dangerous about March 15-unless you happen to be a Roman Caesar.March is supposedly a greatweather forecaster. If March comes inlike a lion, it goes out like a lamb andvice-versa. If Punxsutawney Phil was righton February 2nd, we can expect a lion onthe front end of March and a lamb bringing up the rear. March also boasts theSpring, or vernal, equinox. Equinox means“equal night”; on this day at the earth'sequator, day and night are equal in duration.March 14 is known as “Pi Day”because of the mathematical symbol, pi.Pi is truncated to 3.14 and March 14 is3/14. On this day, math connoisseurs eatpie to celebrate, but they misspell whatthey are eating. Pi is the fascinating fraction 22/7 whose decimal equivalent hasbeen calculated to over one trillion digitsbeyond its decimal point featuring norepetition or pattern but without whichwe would be hard-pressed to draw circlesand manufacture wheels.March 17th is St. Patrick's Dayduring which the Chicago River becomesgreen, and people wear green to avoidgetting pinched. St. Patrick is the patronsaint of Ireland made famous for riddingIreland of snakes. The legend goes thatSt. Patrick preached such a powerful sermon that all of the snakes slithered offinto the ocean; that must have beensome sermon, because it also affectedHawaii, Iceland, New Zealand, Greenland,and Antarctica--none of these islandshave snakes, either. Debbie and I havebeen to Ireland, and we didn't see anysnakes—but that doesn't mean theyweren't there. I haven't seen any snakesaround my property, but I find snakeskins under my house, so I know whatthat means. St. Patrick's real name wasPalladius, and he was Scottish—not Irish,but He did live as a missionary in Irelandfor 40 years during which he supposedlytaught people about the Trinity by using- Continued on page 2Bible Quiz3Calendar7Family News6FYI5Library News3Missions & Outreach4Pastor’s Page1“.may wecontinue the spiritualwar against Satan.heed the warning ofScripture, . . . workwhile it is day, . . .wonder at God'scircular creation, . .and share thewonderful, greenmessage of eternal life.- Pastor Gary

SUNDAY SCHOOL NEWSIf March comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb.Is there any truth to this saying? Weather experts’ sayings are as colorful as our imagination. While many sayings are based on careful observations and turn out to be accurate, othersare merely beliefs of the people who came before us.Those people often believed that bad spirits could affect the weather adversely, so theywere cautious as to what they did or did not do in certain situations.Those beliefs often included ideas that there should be a balance in weather and life. So,if a month came in bad (like a lion), it should go out good and calm (like a lamb).With March being such a changeable month, in which we can see warm spring-like temperatures or lateseason snowstorms, you can understand how this saying might hold true in some instances.We can only hope that if March starts off stormy it will end on a calm note, but the key word is hope. Jeremiah29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future anda hope.”In His name we serveKevin GuiffrePastor’s Page (cont.)3-leaf clovers. St. Patrick is celebrated on the day of hisdeath, March 17, which was 1560 years ago this year.Debbie and I used to love attending the St. Patrick's Dayparade in New Orleans every March 17. As the paradefloats passed by, the riders would throw all the vegetable ingredients necessary to make Irish stew to thecrowds gathered along the route. My favorite color isgreen, but early depictions of St. Patrick show himwearing blue, and the Order of St. Patrick wore a skyblue known as “St. Patrick Blue”; why, then, is green thecolor for St. Patrick's Day? Because Ireland is known asthe Emerald Isle, and emeralds are green. Not only that,but the Irish flag has a green stripe on it representingthe catholic population, and St. Patrick was obviouslycatholic. The orange stripe represents the protestantpopulation, and the white stripe in the middle represents the peace between the two faiths.So this March, may we continue the spiritualwar against Satan (Ephesians 6:12), heed the warning ofScripture (I Corinthians 10:11-12), work while it is day(John 9:4), wonder at God's circular creation (Isaiah40:22), and share the wonderful, green message ofeternal life (I John 5:13).Page 2Volume 14 Issue 3

Library NewsNew and on the ShelfFictionA Continual Feast by Jan Karon (F KAR)NonfictionUnveiling the End Times in Our Time by Adrian Rogers(236.9)When God Doesn’t Make Sense by James Dobson(231.8)Lighthouse Psalms by Honor Books (248.4)Agents of the Apocalypse by Dr. David Jeremiah(228.06)DVDAgenda 2As the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, they longingly remembered some of the foods they’d had inEgypt. Which foods were not mentioned?A. carrots and potatoesB. onions and garlicC. fish and leeksD. melons and cucumbersHint: (See Numbers 11:4-6.)True freedomOur body has not only been created by God and willone day be resurrected by Him, but it has been boughtby Christ’s blood and is indwelled by His Spirit. Thus itbelongs to God three times over, by creation, redemption and indwelling. How then, since it does not belongto us, can we misuse it?Instead, we are to honor God with it, by obedience andself-control. Bought by Christ, we have no business tobecome the slaves of anybody or anything else. Oncewe were slaves of sin; now we are the slaves of Christ,and His service is the true freedom.—John Stott, The Cross of ChristThe LamplighterLaud & honor on Palm SundayThe Palm Sunday anthem “All Glory Laud andHonor” is one of Christendom’s oldest hymns. St.Theodulf of Orleans, who helped reform the church underCharlemagne, wrote the lyrics in the year 820 while imprisoned in France.The lyrics recount Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event the medieval church reenacted everyPalm Sunday. Clergy and townspeople processed fromfields through the city gates, behind a Jesus figure riding adonkey. At the gates, children began singing the hymn inLatin — Gloria, laus et honor — and onlookers soonchimed in.City gates may be a thing of the past, as the website Hymnary.org notes, yet we still praise our blessedRedeemer “because we know just what kind of King Hewas and is — an everlasting King who reigns not just inJerusalem but over the entire earth. What more could wedo but praise Him with glory, laud and honor.”All glory, laud and honor to You, Redeemer, King,to whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring.You are the King of Israel and David's royal Son,now in the Lord's name coming,the King and Blessed One.***“No pain, no palm; no thorns, no throne; no gall, no glory;no cross, no crown.”—William PennWhen God gigglesBefore dinner, our family was preparing to pray, which we doby holding hands. Upon discovering that one child hadn’twashed his hands, my husband struck a contorted pose toavoid physical contact. The mealtime blessing quickly dissolvedinto laughter as we each peeked at him.Afterward, as we passed around the food, I asked, “What doyou imagine God thought about us laughing during prayer?”One child quickly replied, “I think He was laughing right alongwith us.”Yes! Although prayer is reverent, God invites us to conversewith words, emotions — and even giggles!—Janna FirestonePage 3

Missions & OutreachWomen on Mission NewsMission Warriors will meet at 9:30 am on Saturday, March 13 in the fellowship hall. We will plan mission activities for Spring and Summer. For more information, contact Jennifer Miller at jennifer history@hotmail.com or 301-335-5872.Women on Mission will meet on Thursday,March 4 at 10 am in the fellowship hall. After the mission study led by Harriette Gordon, the ladies will beworking on the teddy bears for Operation ChristmasChild. If you are unable to attend but would like to helpwith cutting out or sewing the bears, please contactCarol Gill at 301-934-9615 or 301-751-4764.Yes, we are having a modified soccer season this spring!Online registration is now open and will continue untilMarch 12 (late registration until the 19th) . There willbe no evaluations or “meet the coaches” session thisseason. Practices will begin the week of March 29; firstgames April 10, and last games May 29.Watch bulletins for further details or contact ShannonPankhurst at fbclpsoccer@gmail.com orslpank@yahoo.com.2021 VBS: July 19-23Save The Date!NURSERY HELPNEEDED!If you love children, now is a greattime to sign up to help in the nursery if you aren’t already on thelist. If you can help, please contact Kay Hancock atkaysplayhouse1@yahoo.com or301-934-1795.Remember, everyone who works with children mustbe familiar with our Child Protection Policy and undergo a background check. Copies of the policy withforms attached are in the office and on the WelcomeDesk. Just follow the instructions on the cover sheet.Page 4Watch for more details in the Aprilnewsletter and start thinking nowabout how you can help.We will also announce whether we will doConcrete & Cranes originally planned for last year ora different one. It will depend on whether we meetinside or outside.OperationChristmas ChildNow’s a great time to scour the clearance salesto pick up bargains on winter clothing items, such ashats, mittens, scarves, tennis shoes, undergarments andsocks. Your continued support in collecting itemsthroughout the year is what makes our collection weekin November so successful. We couldn’t do it withoutyou!Volume 14, Issue 3

FYI(Sermon Topic Subject to Change)Mar. 07Mar. 14Mar. 21Mar. 28“S.O.S: An Overview”“The Word”“White as Snow”“ Hospitality”Song of Solomon 1:12 John 1:12Isaiah 1:183 John 3:5-8PM services are suspended until further notice.Door Team for MarchTellers for MarchCourtney Harbin & Rosa Minehan** Subject to ChangeSchedule PendingDeacon of the WeekRotation has not yetresumed.Nursery Schedule - SundaysMar. 07 - AMMar. 14 - AMMar. 21 - AMMar. 28 - AMChildren's Worship WorkersChildren’s Worshiphas not yet resumed.The LamplighterWednesdays:Mar. 7 Feb. 14 Feb. 21 Mar. 28 -Nursery not yetavailablePage 5